Minimal condominium: rules, meeting and administrator

A minimal condominium is one made up of only two owners, the smallest number needed for a condominium to exist. It is a very common situation, from the semi-detached house to the small building divided into two units, and its very simplicity gives rise to recurring questions: is an administrator needed? How do you vote when there are only two owners? What happens if they cannot agree? Let us look at the essential rules of the minimal condominium, bearing in mind that the governing framework remains the general one of the Civil Code.

When a minimal condominium exists

A condominium arises automatically, without the need for any instrument of incorporation, the moment a building with common parts belongs to at least two different owners. It is therefore enough for two people each to own a unit in the same building, sharing elements such as the roof, foundations, stairs or entrance, for a minimal condominium to exist.

Which rules apply

The rules on condominium in buildings apply to the minimal condominium, that is articles 1117 and following of the Civil Code. The Court of Cassation has moved past the once widespread idea that with only two owners the rules on co-ownership should be used: the same rules as the ordinary condominium apply, with the adjustments made necessary by the fact that the participants are only two.

How the meeting works

Even in the minimal condominium, decisions on the common parts must be taken at a meeting, with proper notice to both owners. The peculiarity is that, since there are only two participants, the logic of majority tends to coincide with unanimity: resolutions are valid when the meeting is constituted with both present and they decide in agreement. Expenses for preserving and repairing the common parts therefore require a resolution adopted by both.

What happens in a deadlock

The typical problem of the minimal condominium is deadlock: if the two owners do not agree, no common will is formed. In this case the Civil Code offers a way out through the reference to the rules on co-ownership. Art. 1105 provides that, when the necessary measures for administering the common property are not taken or a majority is not formed, any participant can apply to the judicial authority. The court can thus authorise the indispensable works, in particular those urgent for the safety of the building.

Is an administrator needed?

The appointment of an administrator becomes mandatory when there are more than eight owners. In the minimal condominium, made up of only two owners, the appointment is therefore optional: the two can manage the common parts directly. Nothing prevents appointing an administrator all the same, a choice often useful for having an impartial third party who keeps the accounts, handles the obligations and, not rarely, helps to defuse conflicts.

Allocation of expenses

Common expenses are allocated according to the ordinary condominium criteria. In the absence of formal millesimal tables, which is frequent in small buildings, the legal criteria apply: preservation expenses are divided in proportion to the value of the respective properties, while other items follow specific rules, such as those on stairs in art. 1124. Even with two owners, keeping orderly accounts prevents an undocumented expense from becoming a cause of dispute.

Bank account and obligations

Many obligations designed for larger condominiums remain valid in the minimal condominium too when an administrator is appointed, starting with the transparent management of common funds. Even without an administrator it is good practice to separate common expenses from the two owners' personal finances, so that it is always verifiable who paid for what.

Regulation and other obligations

Some obligations only kick in above certain thresholds of owners and in the minimal condominium they therefore remain optional. A condominium regulation is mandatory when there are more than ten owners: with only two owners it is not needed, although it remains possible to adopt one to set shared usage rules and allocation criteria. Likewise, below the threshold that makes the appointment mandatory, there is no obligation to have an administrator or to carry out the related formal duties. This does not mean the absence of rules: the substantive rules on common parts, on improvements and on expenses continue to apply regardless of the number of participants.

Small condominium, same need for order

The small size does not remove the need to document expenses, resolutions and allocations. On the contrary, precisely because everything rests on the agreement between two people, clear accounts are the best prevention of conflict: a transparent and justified allocation is hard to contest.

AmministraPro manages even the smallest condominiums with the same care as the large ones: separate accounting, justified allocations and documentation always at hand, without needless complexity. You can see how it works on the features page and choose the formula best suited even to a few condominiums in the pricing section.